By Edoardo Stella
Results from round 35 of the 2020/21 season:
Serie A table:
It’s the sixth game running that Udinese concede a penalty
Another great performance by Rodrigo De Paul was made vain by Riccardo Orsolini’s penalty, as both Udinese and Bologna remain tied in 11th with 40 points.
There was still space for a very unusual statistic, as Udinese conceded a penalty for the sixth game in a row, also registering a negative record for a single Serie A season since Opta record the data.
It was indeed the 12th time the Friulani had a penalty against them in 2020/21.
Embed from Getty ImagesVictor Osimhen proves decisive in the fight for Champions League
Napoli return to the top four and it looks like the investment of Osimhen is paying off at the right time. The Nigerian is the most expensive transfer ever for the club, but the beginning of his adventure was tormented by disappointing performances and a few injuries.
After the international break he found the net seven times in eight games and Napoli haven’t lost in the period.
It’s almost done for Napoli, who need to save their advantage in the final three games against Udinese, Fiorentina and Verona.
It’s an Inter party at San Siro
Despite featuring multiple players who don’t regularly start, Inter continue on a high and beat Sampdoria 5-1 on their first game after clinching the title.
It was a party on and off the pitch, as fans welcomed the team to the stadium, while the players put on an excellent attacking display.
Alexis Sanchez shined with a brace, while Andrea Pinamonti scored his first goal for the club. It was truly the best way to celebrate a splendid season.
The star of Vlahovic shines again
It may sound repetitive to talk about Dusan Vlahovic week in and week out, but the talent born in 2000 keeps shining and probably put an end to all the top four hopes of Lazio.
What really is a surprise about the Serbian striker is the growth, as other than scoring 12 goals in the last nine league games, 20 of his 21 goals came since mid-December.
It wasn’t an amazing start to the season for the Fiorentina man, but he is seriously capturing attention, as Fiorentina move up to 38 points.
Sassuolo keep thriving towards European places
Sassuolo found another win, which keeps them in the run to join next year’s Conference League. 2021 didn’t begin in the right way for them, but Roberto De Zerbi’s team turned the situation around.
On the other hand, Genoa, who succumbed to goals from Giacomo Raspadori and Domenico Berardi, still cannot be 100% relaxed.
They enjoy a five points lead over Benevento, but only won a game out of the last seven.
Embed from Getty ImagesCagliari beat Benevento: survival is more and more in the Sardinians’ hands
It was probably the last call for Benevento to try and stand a chance for permanence in the Serie A. Their rivals were only a point above and Benevento could enjoy the possibility of playing at home, but Cagliari proved too much.
52 seconds after kick-off, the visitors found the net, but Gianluca Lapadula equalised 17 minutes later. The game remained tied until Leonardo Pavoletti scored for the third time in his career against Benevento.
The goal proved to be the winner, with Joao Pedro sealing the win in stoppage time.
Vojvoda and Dimarco score in a late draw
Hellas Verona and Torino made it happen in the last minutes, as Mergim Vojvoda put the Granata in front at the 85th minute. Verona came back and after a positive performance, substitute Federico Dimarco equalised for what was a deserved point.
Verona still can’t seem to return to victory and only have the 16th best attack despite featuring in the top half of the table.
Torino’s situation is not as calm as they wished, but they are also slowly making great use of Benevento’s awful form. They have four points over their rivals, which they will play on Matchday 38.
Atalanta return great against Parma
There was a point this season when Parma were really struggling for goals. They only scored 15 goals in their first 22 games and had by far the worst attack in the league. In the last 13 games, they scored 23 goals, but can’t seem to bring results home, as the solidity at the back totally went missing.
It’s almost inevitable to concede against Atalanta, but a 5-2 means they conceded 22 goals in seven games now, an average of more than three per game.
Luis Muriel scored two to redeem himself after last week’s penalty miss and join Romelu Lukaku and Vlahovic at second place in the Serie A golden boot race.
Roma just hold off to seventh
After giving up nine points to Sassuolo in the last seven games, Roma returns to gaining three points, albeit against bottom of the class Crotone.
The first half saw no goals, but Borja Mayoral and Lorenzo Pellegrini both netted two goals, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan also scoring.
Now that the Europa League campaign is over, Roma should try to finish the season on a high, at least salvaging a place in the Conference League.
Embed from Getty ImagesMilan prove their worth by dominating Juventus
Juventus’s poor year is seeming to get worse and worse as time goes on. Milan score points at the Allianz Stadium for the first time ever and do so with a 3-0 that said a lot about the difference that was put on the pitch.
Milan appeared determined to regain their place back ahead of the hosts and went up with a splendid goal by Brahim Diaz. There was even space for Franck Kessie to miss a penalty, but even then Ante Rebic and Fikayo Tomori managed to score, as Juventus struggled.
It was a poor showing, as the former champions struggled to create chances and drop to fifth with three games to go.
For Edoardo’s previous Serie A column click here.
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